The Centre for Clinical Psychology in Melbourne

We all experience and make sense of life in our own unique way. The challenges that life presents can negatively affect a personl’s mental health in a variety of ways.

It can be helpful to see a psychologist if you are:

• Having difficulty coping or feeling overwhelmed
• Troubled by a traumatic experience
• Struggling with low mood
• Worrying excessively or experiencing panic atacks
• Having difficulty sleeping 
• Frequently irritable or angry
• Feeling isolated and avoiding social activities
• Struggling with parenting and relationships

Many people are uncertain about what a clinical psychologist does and how their tole differs from other mental health professionals.

A clinical psychologist is a unversity trained professional who is registered with a national regulatory body, the Australian Health Practitioners Regulation Agency. Clinical psychologists require 8 years of training. they require 4 years of basic university training, a minimum of 2 years post graduate training and then a further 2 years of supervised practice following, via an internship program.

Yes, to practice as a clinical psychologist your therapist must adhere to a strict confidentiality policy in accordance with a professional code of ethics and the Australian Privacy Guidelines. What is disclosed in therapy sessions, as well as any correspondence relating to your sessions, remains confidential, unless you consent to it being shared with someone. We also adhere to strict protocols around maintaining the security of our data. However we may be obligated to disclose information to a third party if someones safety is at risk or a document is subpoenaed. Please ask for a copy of our Privacy Policy if you require any further details.

Should it be required we can write psychological reports for instances such as TAC, Work Cover, and court proceedings. These reports are charged separately, and in addition to our psychological consultations.

In the first session, your psychologist will focus on trying to understand your difficulties and how they are best treated. This will involve an assessment process in which you have the opportunity to reflect upon your experience. It will also include a series of questions from the clinical psychologist to help in understanding your current situation. Similarly, you may be aksed to fill out questionnaires.

The clinical psychologist will be seeking to understand what your difficulties are and what kind of therapeutic approaches are best suited to the difficulties you describe. They will discuss what kind of evidence-based therapy is known to work for what you have described to them. Subsequent sessions are usually on a regular bases and become less frequent as your difficulties are resolved.

You always retain the choice regarding how many sessions you need and you are not obliged to attend a minimum number. You are also free to decide the frequency of your counselling sessions, however it is advisable to make these decision in consultations with you clinical psychologist who can discuss with you and make recommendations based on their experience and with an understanding of what the evidence suggests.

If you have a Mental Health Care Plan from your Gp this will entitle you to Medicare rebates for up to 10 sessions. If you use all 10 sessions you can continue to see your psychologist at the private fee rates.

We understand that not everyone can come to see us during business hours, this is why our psychologists are available Monday to Friday 9am – 9pm, and Saturday 9am – 5pm.

You can find out more on our Fees page Click here…

You are free to stop seeing your therapist at any time. Just as you are free to start seeing your therapist again at any time.

As a professional, your clinical psychologist will b e open to your feedback and discussing with you why you may wish to end the therapy. They may discuss ideas with you and discuss why they recommend you continue. In an ideal situation this feedback can also become part of the work of therapy and can lead to important progress. We encourage you to have these discussions with your psychologist, rather than just dropping out of therapy.

At the Centre for Clinical Psychology we are also aware of the need for a good fit between you and the psychologist you are seeing. We are willing to assist you with this even if it means transfer to another psychologist or even and external referral. Your care is our priority.